Venezuela’s Cabello Denies Existence of ‘Cartel of the Suns,’ Amidst U.S. caribbean Deployment
CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello vehemently โคdenied the existence of the “Cartel of theโข Suns” on Friday, dismissing it asโ an “imperialist narrative” fabricated by the United States. The denial โคcomes as the U.S. maintains a significant naval and โฃair presence in โthe Caribbean Sea, ostensiblyโ toโ combat drug trafficking originating from Venezuela.
The U.S. goverment โขhas designated the Cartel of the Suns as aโ terrorist organization,โค alleging โฃitโข is led by Venezuelan President โNicolรกs Maduroโ alongsideโข members of โคhis government and the Armed forces.
“Suddenly thay dusted off something they callโ the Cartel of the Suns,which they have โnever and never been able to verify because it does not exist. It is indeed the narrative of imperialism,” โฃCabello stated during a conference addressing drug use and juvenile delinquency.
The U.S.โ militaryโ has reported intercepting 20 vessels in the Caribbean over the past two months,allegedly carrying drugs,resulting in โฃover 66 fatalities linked to criminal organizations. Cabello criticized these actions, asserting โคthatโค “anyone who is on a boat in โthe Caribbean can be attacked without any legal formality.” He emphasized that due process – “processed, investigated, arrested, the โฃculprits are presented โand the seized drugsโ are presented” – should โฃbe followed instead of “summary execution.”
The Maduro government contends that theโข U.S.military presence is a precursor to a “regime change” operation aimed at installing a “puppet” government to exploit Venezuela’s natural resources, โnotably it’s oil reserves.
U.S. authorities trace the origins of the Cartel of the Suns back to the 1990s, describing itโฃ as a group comprised of Venezuelan military personnel – the โคname referencing the insigniaโ wornโค by generals. The โDEA formallyโข launched investigations in March 2020, โduring theโข management of Donald Trump. In August of last year, Washingtonโฃ increased the reward for informationโ leading to maduro’s capture to $50 million.